December: Day 2: Teaching 2:
Holy Prophet Habakkuk
(The Care of Angels for People)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Holy Prophet Habakkuk
(The Care of Angels for People)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. The Holy Prophet Habakkuk, today commemorated by the Church, lived 600 years before Christ and prophesied of the disasters that would befall Judea. Indeed, the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, destroyed the city, the temple, and took many people captive. Then the Prophet Habakkuk went to the land of Israel, but after the departure of Nebuchadnezzar, he returned to his homeland.
He was a poor man and lived by farming. One day he prepared a meal for the workers who were helping him reap his field, when suddenly he saw an Angel of the Lord who said to him: "Habakkuk, take this meal to Daniel in Babylon, to the lions' den."
Habakkuk was surprised and answered the Angel: “My lord, I have never been to Babylon in my life and I do not know where the lions’ den is.”
Then the Angel lifted him from the ground and carried him to Babylon, the capital of the Chaldean kingdom. There were many Jewish captives taken there, including a boy named Daniel. This boy later became a great prophet of God; and even the king of the Chaldeans honored him for his wisdom. But through envy, the courtiers managed to turn the king against Daniel, and the Prophet of God was thrown into the lions' den. The envious hoped that the lions would tear him to pieces; but the Lord God preserved His faithful servant, who remained safe and sound among the hungry beasts. It was to this Prophet Daniel that Habakkuk was sent. The Angel placed him near the lions' den. "Daniel," he said, "take the dinner which the Lord sends you." Daniel dined, and the Angel carried Habakkuk back to his place of residence.
II. Beloved brethren! The all-good God, as a most wise and loving Father, entrusted the care of the younger brothers to the elder brothers, and entrusted the care of men to the holy angels. The word of God clearly teaches this. The Apostle Paul says of the angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14)?
a) The Holy Scriptures show us many examples of how the angels of God do good to people in various ways. Thus, in ancient times the angels saved Lot and his family from destruction in an impious city, having led him out of Sodom, which was condemned to perdition in advance (Gen. 19:17). The angel shut the mouths of the lions, so that they would not harm Daniel, who was cast into the lions' den for his faithfulness to the true God (Dan. 6:13-23). The angel preserved from the fire the three holy youths in Babylon, who were thrown into a kindled furnace (Dan. 3:49). But all the cases of their appearance cannot be counted.
b) The holy angels, always standing before the face of the Lord and burning with love for Him, love their younger brothers - men. They always take care that we, like them, love God with all our souls and serve Him with all our strength, and thus achieve our salvation. The holy angels inspire us with good thoughts, intentions and desires; turn us away from sins; warn us against temptations and seductions; guide and support in difficult circumstances of life; with their cover they protect us from the slander of evil spirits, always at war with man; they intercede for us before the throne of the Most High, and offer the prayers of those who pray worthily before the altar that is before the throne of God, as was revealed to the seer John (Rev. 8:3, 4).
Jesus Christ Himself testifies to the love with which the holy angels care for the salvation of men. He says that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). From this it is evident that the angels care not only for those who firmly walk the path of salvation, but also for those who live in sins or deviate to the highways; the angels lovingly care for the return of those who are in error to the path of salvation, and therefore they rejoice when the sinner recognizes his error and with repentance runs to Christ the Savior, they rejoice that he who perishes from perdition returns to life.
c) Holy angels not only in this life take care of a person, serve his salvation, instruct him, strengthen him, protect him, console him in sorrows and illnesses; but they do not leave him at the end of life, they take care of him at the hour of death; they dispel the cloud of deathly fear and doubt for the pious soul; they calm the troubled soul, strengthen in it faith, hope and love for God, nourish filial devotion to the all-good Father in heaven. When the moment comes for the soul to leave the body, then the angels of God, as the inhabitants of heaven, receive the pious soul, and accompany it to the heavenly abodes, to the bosom of Abraham. This secret is revealed to us by the Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, saying: “And it came to pass that the beggar died, and the angels carried him into the bosom of Abraham” (Luke 16:22).
So the holy angels are close to us! So they love us, humans, burning with love for God, who created them and us, for the glorification of His name and for the happiness and blessedness of them and ours. So the angels do much good to humans!
III. Reflecting on the angels of heaven, who care so much for us, let us, brethren, thank God, who so wisely and mercifully provides for our salvation, not only by the power of His all-acting grace, but also through the mediation of His highest creations, the holy disembodied spirits.
Thinking about the holy angels of heaven, as surpassing us in perfection, as our benefactors, always caring for our salvation, and “always seeing the face of the heavenly Father,” let us worthily honor them, glorify their perfection, ask for their help and protection, pray for their intercession for us before the throne of the Lord God.
Thinking about the angels of heaven, pure, holy, constantly praising the Lord, we too must be inspired by zeal to achieve angelic perfections, trying to lead a pure and holy life, so as to always please God, imitating His holy angels. Let us remember that the angels of God especially care for those who fear God and seek their salvation. It is said: “The angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him.” And according to the teaching of the Apostle, angels are sent primarily to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
